Sunday, January 13, 2013

I received an email from a producer at KARE 11 a few days ago requesting permission to use the video I took last year of the Crashed Ice event in St Paul for one of their upcoming news segments. He was hoping I had the raw video file to use but unfortunately I don't. I gave him a link to the video on my Vimeo channel where he can download the HD version there. He thinks he may be able to use it. Cool!

We're back to hit-or-miss slot times at Foci due to a cracked crucible in the main furnace, the new one. Not good. I'm hoping we'll find a way to get in there most weeks as I just don't like being away from it for very long. I need to keep progressing. I suppose this will give me a chance to begin working on developing my sandblasting skills on the days when we're not able to blow glass. That may be the silver lining in this for me. I think Tammy would like to try her hand at that as well.

I spent our time at Foci Thursday afternoon working on some simple two-gather vases with Tammy's help. They turned out okay but I'm feeling ready to step up my game some by working with larger bowls and different forms as well as different color application techniques. I've got so much to learn.

My ant-farm is into its 15th day. I do believe we've lost a few ants since the last video but there's still much work being done. If you've got kids at home I think they'd really find this so fascinating. Here's a link to get you started.

I'm done with my yearlong intimate experience with blood-thinners. My doctor gave me the okay on Tuesday to quit them, just shy of one full year of the therapy. I feel a great sense of happiness that I can stop them but at the same time my elation is somewhat tempered knowing that I could easily end up on them again and if I do it will be for life. This is my one and only 2nd chance.

I met with my hematologist on Friday to get her blessing as well. I asked if she plans to have scans of my lungs taken in 6 to 9 months to see if there are any more clots developing but she would rather not expose me to the radiation unless it's necessary. She wants to see me again at 3 month intervals with the caveat that if I sense there's anything not right to get in contact with her and that she will then order whatever tests would be necessary to rule out any of my concerns.

We talked about things I can do to minimize my chances for a re-occurrence. Staying hydrated being near the top of that list. I've always been so terrible at that so I've got to change. Staying active is also important to keeping my blood flowing and not being allowed to pool and clot. Being active isn't much of a problem for me because it's what I do although I do worry about those times like this past month where my health isn't so good and I'm not up to working out. I'm going to have to be sure I at least get on the treadmill and walk some. There are much worse problems in life to contend with.

Dr Kubiak mentioned that there's a 17% chance I'll have another pulmonary embolism episode but rather than dwell on that number, focus on the other number. There's an 83% chance that I won't. I like those odds better. She wants me to resume living my life as I was before.

I wasted little time getting back out on the road as soon as I figured the coumadin was sufficiently out of my blood. The weather wasn't so nice with drizzle and 37º but I didn't mind much. It was just so nice to be out there mixing it up with traffic again. Well actually, it did take just a bit of getting used to having traffic to contend with. A far cry from my CompuTrainer where I'm totally free to disregard that aspect of riding.

I loved being on my Mukluk again. You can't see it in the video below but I'm absolutely smiling!

Suppress your desire to hit mute in the first 5 seconds because the accompanying music actually works quite nicely.

2 comments:

I've been riding and running down here for the last 26 years. The road was closed the last time I came through one year ago so I was surprised to see it open again to traffic. Apparently the city of Burnsville was getting tired of the expense to keep it open after the winter floods so now it's a 'minimum maintenance road' as the sign in the video shows.

About Me

I'm a retired air traffic controller having worked with the FAA since March of 1982 until September, 2015.

Tammy and I have been married since 1999 and our daughter Rachel is a 2014 graduate of the University of Minnesota at Rochester having earned a degree in health science in her quest to becoming a Physician Assistant.

My hobbies in no specific order are glassblowing, stained glass, blogging and staying fit which usually involves a ridiculous amount of miles on my bikes.